The big picture
1 John 5 opens in verse 1 with “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 11 with “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his…”, and closes in verse 21 with “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” Repeated or prominent terms include know, life, witness, believeth, death. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
1 John · King James Version · 211 John 5:1-7
1–7: Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every…
1 John 5:1–7 opens with “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that…” and reaches “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Believers overcoming through faith, receiving apostolic testimony about the Son, and praying with confidence according to God’s will, with particular weight carried by commandments, Jesus, love.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also…” The number one makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
1 John 5:1-7
King James Version1Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
4For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
5Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
6This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1 John 5:8-14
8–14: There are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water…
1 John 5:8–14 opens with “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and…” and reaches “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Believers overcoming through faith, receiving apostolic testimony about the Son, and praying with confidence according to God’s will, with particular weight carried by life, witness, believeth.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in…” The number three makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath…” Naming Son keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
1 John 5:8-14
King James Version8And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
9If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1 John 5:15-21
15–21: If we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the…
1 John 5:15–21 opens with “And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we…” and reaches “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Believers overcoming through faith, receiving apostolic testimony about the Son, and praying with confidence according to God’s will, with particular weight carried by know, death, true.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” The line’s distinctive content terms include know, desired, hear. Its relationship to verses 16 shows what work it does in this passage.
“If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
1 John 5:15-21
King James Version15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
16If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
17All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
18We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
19And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
21Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
1 John 5:1 begins with “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”
Where the chapter turns
1 John 5:5 forms a natural hinge: “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
The final note
1 John 5:21 leaves the reader with “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words know, life, witness, believeth, death, Jesus help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What does the repeated ending make readers feel?
Death becomes the chapter's persistent refrain, even as generation follows generation.
What two interruptions offer hope?
Enoch's walk with God and Lamech's hope attached to Noah.
KJV words made clear
- begat
- became the father of
- unto
- to
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
The heavenly witnesses in the KJV
1 John 5:7-8. The KJV includes the words about the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost bearing record in heaven. This longer wording, often called the Johannine Comma, is absent from the earliest Greek manuscripts and from nearly all Greek witnesses before the late medieval period.
View source: Bible.org, NET Bible textual note on 1 John 5:7 ↗ · View source: Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, The Comma Johanneum in a manuscript ↗